Changes in an organization are not always welcome—especially when it comes to governance. But to stay relevant and attuned to industry shifts, that often means boards, stakeholders, and other teams will have to shift their ways of thinking, and their processes, too.

Jeff De Cagna writes on Association Success that associations should be continually governing with the future in mind. That is, organizations should develop a forward-thinking approach at every level.

“This way of thinking requires a fundamental shift away from association management’s orthodox beliefs about the role of the board and the nature of its work, and toward a future-ready perspective on what governing can become,” he says.

Although it will take time, De Cagna says he’s confident that new technologies, along with younger board members, will steer the governance shift forward.

“There is a growing realization among association boards and chief staff executives that powerful forces of societal transformation are reshaping every field of human endeavor and experience,” he says. “No association is exempt from the long-term impact of disruption and more staff and voluntary decision-makers are taking seriously the need to prepare their organizations and stakeholders for a full range of plausible futures.”

An ASAE Blast From the Past

Finding Lost Treasures Part 3: Remember these? We dug up a pre-downloadable podcast era cassette tape from ASAE’s 75th Annual Meeting and Exposition titled Computer Systems Acquisition: The inside story. #DelCor35 pic.twitter.com/fZ1JQjvEM5

— DelCor (@delcor) February 19, 2019

Oh, how times have changed. At ASAE’s Annual Meeting & Expositions of yore, cassette tapes of education sessions were produced, allowing the learning to continue long after the conference was over.

Other Links of Note

Telling stories is an important part of nonprofit work, says the Nonprofit Marketing Guide.

Can machine learning double your impact? The Stanford Social Innovation Review investigates.

Journaling can help leaders stay organized and efficient. Nonprofit thought leader Beth Kanter explains how to set up a bullet journaling system.

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